This invention relates to a device for separating an oil-water mixture, particularly such a device for use on board a ship to purify the oil-water mixture found in ship bilges.
Many devices have been developed over the years to remove oil or the like from water. Such devices typically incorporates a plurality of plates arranged parallel to each other so that the contaminated water may pass between the plates from one and to the other. Such passage causes the oil droplets within the water to coalesce and, after the mixture passes over the plates, to rise to the top of the device. The water may then be withdrawn and the oil may be separately withdrawn for further treatment or disposal.
It is also known to form the parallel plates with a corrugated surface to facilitate the removal of the oil droplets and to increase their coalescing ability.
Shipboard oil-water separators are also known to separate or remove the oil from the water found in the ship bilge. However, these systems have been generally very complex arrangements, and their complexity inherently reduces their overall reliability in service. Also, the typical corrugated, parallel plate separators have generally relied upon a stationary orientation to effectively separate the oil from the water, thereby rendering them unfit for shipboard use. The rolling motion of the ship generally decreases the efficiency of such known separators.